Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Signs of change meet POV

Life has seasons. The weather has seasons. Relationships have seasons. Even our perishable groceries have seasons. What those seasons look like depends on the perspective. For instance, we just entered fall. Where I live, a few trees have a kiss of color. The grass is green and still needs mowing and I still have periwinkles in bloom. 


Seasons of weather

In northern Illinois, where I lived the first half of my life, it is already dropping into the 40’s at night and only warming to the 60s during the day. When I lived in Florida, the seasons as I knew them growing up in the Midwest were turned on their head. Because of the intense summer heat, gardens were started in October. 

Life seasons

Life seasons differ too. The point of view regarding a specific season will also differ. When I was in my mid 20s I had a friend who turned 30 and just sat in his easy chair watching TV at night. At the time, I thought, “That’s what 30 is like!” But he had gone through a difficult divorce, had not children, and his dreams had been dashed. His view of 30 differed from my view of 30 when I got there. 

Different POV equals different story

I remember when my daughter went to Haiti for five weeks and a teen, to help with a number of things. One thing they did was dig a garbage pit. Another, they helped teach to garden. When she returned home just before school was to start, I had thrown away some withered tomatoes from the garden. She stared into the pale and said, “You know, the people in Haiti would eat those.” Same items, different POVs, equals a different story.

Pumping Your Muse writing prompt

For today’s creative writing prompt choose one item from the list below and write a scene that shows the change noticed by your character (or you). Then take the same item and write another short scene from a differing POV.

  • Look out a window: show the same scene at two different times of life. Let thoughts of the character reflect the seasons of life.
  • Show two people with a fresh relationship that is close. Show passage of time and a different perspective on the same relationship (if it no longer exists memories of the relationship).
  • Use some perishable item as the centerpiece to your scene. First scene it is fresh, and the scene is full of hope and dreams. The second scene show the same item stale, spoiled, petrified, etc. Think of Miss Havisham in Great Expectations as she talks to Pip. “What do you think that is?” she asked me, again pointing with her stick; “that, where those cobwebs are?”
      “I can’t guess what it is, ma’am.”
      “It’s a great cake. A bride-cake. Mine!”

 

Photo credits: June Campbell, wikimedia

 

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About The Inheritance by Donna Sundblad

Written within the allegorical tradition of classics like Pilgrim's Progress, The Inheritance offers a literal but symbolic story for today's fantasy enthusiasts. This cleverly devised tale doesn't tell you what to think, but stimulates thought as to why you believe what you believe in your own quest for the Eternal City. The Inheritance is an ideal discussion starter for youth groups, homeschoolers, and families who enjoy meaningful discussions. 

 


The Inheritance is available on Kindle, paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo (Christian fiction), Smashwords and Google Books. When you read it, be sure to leave a review! Thanks for your support. 

About Dragonborn by Donna Sundblad


Dragonborn conjures up a winning fantasy with dragons, humans, time travel, and magic. Follow young Ervig Greenfields as he seeks out dragons to remove a curse. The dragons offer access to the Labyrinth of Times, which will purge the dark magic. But there’s a catch. Erving must vow allegiance to fight alongside dragons for centuries, never to return to his own time. He and a handful of others take the selfless oath and become Dragonborn. The Dragonborn and their dragons become seeds of change, in this epic tale, of sacrifice for the greater good. Ride along with them as they slip through a tear in time to the past to change the future.

 

Monday, September 20, 2021

Sense of space

I’m currently mentoring a creative writing course at Writer’sVillage University, and this week, I’ll be speaking about using the senses in writing. When you think of the senses the first to come to mind are the ones related to our sensing organs: touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste. For this post, I am tapping into all of those as we look at the overall sense of space.


To better understand what I’m talking about, consider the idiom “taking up space.” The negative connotation is a uselessness or a waste of space. But for our use, we will flip things around and create a positive: a sense of space where each item matters and has purpose. 


A sense of space in writing

A sense of space has to do with creating setting or atmosphere. Of course, it should go without saying that you want to “show” the space and not just tell us what it is. For example if the setting is a cramped space, you want the reader to feel it, and even smell it. Is it damp and musty? Has technology failed, trapping your character in the space? If you’re jammed into a place with others, the experience is different that a person alone. And that’s the key. Experience. You want your reader to experience the space you’ve create. That is the sense of space.


Pumping Your Muse writing prompt

Today’s writing prompt challenges you to create a sense of space. I’m offering mix-and-match elements. Choose a character from list A and an element or elements from list B and create a sense of space. For fun, you could try more than one match-up to see what you learn.

List A: Characters

  • kitten
  • elderly woman or man (or both)
  • middle aged business man or woman (or both)
  • pregnant woman
  • seven-year-old boy or girl (or both)
  • school bus driver
  • hotel housekeeper
  • mechanic

List B:

  • box
  • bus
  • ring
  • mud
  • dreams
  • lighthouse
  • garage
  • waiting room
  • cemetery 
  • kitchen table
  • bed
  • keys
  • lost
  • flat tire
  • accident
  • broken bone

Remember to engage all the senses to make your sense of space pop!


Photo credits: pixabay, pxhere, maxpixel

* * *

About The Inheritance by Donna Sundblad

Written within the allegorical tradition of classics like Pilgrim's Progress, The Inheritance offers a literal but symbolic story for today's fantasy enthusiasts. This cleverly devised tale doesn't tell you what to think, but stimulates thought as to why you believe what you believe in your own quest for the Eternal City. The Inheritance is an ideal discussion starter for youth groups, homeschoolers, and families who enjoy meaningful discussions. 

 


The Inheritance is available on Kindle, paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo (Christian fiction), Smashwords and Google Books. When you read it, be sure to leave a review! Thanks for your support. 

About Dragonborn by Donna Sundblad

 


Dragonborn conjures up a winning fantasy with dragons, humans, time travel, and magic. Follow the journey of the young prisonguard, Ervig Greenfields, as he seeks out dragons to remove a curse. The dragons offer him access to the Labyrinth of Times, which will purge the dark magic. But there’s a catch. Erving must take the Dragon Oath that requires allegiance--to fight alongside dragons for centuries, never to return to his own time. He and a handful of others take the selfless oath and become Dragonborn. The Dragonborn and their dragons become seeds of change, in this epic tale, of sacrifice for the greater good. Ride along with them as they slip through a tear in time to the past to change the future. 

Dragonborn is available on Kindle, paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo (Christian fiction), Smashwords Apple and Google Books. When you read it, be sure to leave a review! Thanks for your support.

 

 

Saturday, September 18, 2021

Moving day -- Perspective

I don’t know about you, but I dread moving. All that sorting, packing, giving things away, or throwing them out. We have new neighbors across the street. It’s their second day in the house and the woman didn’t even want to walk to the mailbox at the end of her driveway. She is exhausted. 


We joked about how we could do things when we were younger that now must be accomplished in smaller steps. That got me thinking about different perspectives on moving day. Someone in grade school that is forced to move away from friends and school because their mom took a new job in another city has a different perspective than the mom. Someone who has a moving company pack and move them, will have a different perspective from one who has to pack everything themselves. Someone who is moving into their first house has a different perspective than someone leaving the house they have lived in for 40 years. And what about pets?



Pumping Your Muse writing prompt

For today’s writing prompt, pick one of the following prompts and create a moving-day scene. Be sure to include a range of emotions, and end the scene with them walking/driving away. Here the one element of interest to add: one thing left behind (either purposely or by accident).

  • Couple moving to a bigger place because they are expecting a baby
  • Child moving to another state
  • Family dog/cat moving with family 500 miles away
  • A relationship has ended and one of the two people is moving out
  • A situation of your own that’s true

Photo credits: pxfuel, pxfuel

 

* * *

About The Inheritance by Donna Sundblad

Written within the allegorical tradition of classics like Pilgrim's Progress, The Inheritance offers a literal but symbolic story for today's fantasy enthusiasts. This cleverly devised tale doesn't tell you what to think, but stimulates thought as to why you believe what you believe in your own quest for the Eternal City. The Inheritance is an ideal discussion starter for youth groups, homeschoolers, and families who enjoy meaningful discussions. 

 


The Inheritance is available on Kindle, paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo (Christian fiction), Smashwords and Google Books. When you read it, be sure to leave a review! Thanks for your support. 

About Dragonborn by Donna Sundblad

 

Dragonborn conjures up a winning fantasy with dragons, humans, time travel, and magic. Follow the journey of the young prisonguard, Ervig Greenfields, as he seeks out dragons to remove a curse. The dragons offer him access to the Labyrinth of Times, which will purge the dark magic. But there’s a catch. Erving must take the Dragon Oath that requires allegiance--to fight alongside dragons for centuries, never to return to his own time. He and a handful of others take the selfless oath and become Dragonborn. The Dragonborn and their dragons become seeds of change, in this epic tale, of sacrifice for the greater good. Ride along with them as they slip through a tear in time to the past to change the future. 

 Dragonborn is available on Kindle, paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo (Christian fiction), Smashwords Apple and Google Books. When you read it, be sure to leave a review! Thanks for your support.

 

Friday, September 10, 2021

Fear: what does it look like?

Fear is a strong emotion felt when we face a threat. The threat can be physical, emotional, or psychological. It can be real or imagined. It is often viewed as a negative emotion but it comes in handy when it causes us to flee a potential danger. It can also be a positive when we learn to overcome a fear of things like the first day of school, or going for a job interview. It can also be considered fun when we allow ourselves to be scared on purpose like a haunted house, or watching a scary movie. 


As writers, fear can be used as an agent of change. It might cause a character to leave the security of the familiar and venture into the unknown. It can be used to raise conflict followed by resolution. For today’s writing prompt, the theme is fear. Whether it is negative or positive will depend on what you write. It is up to you.

 

Today’s Pumping Your Muse writing prompt

The writing mantra of show don’t tell applies to today’s writing prompt. Write a scene that shows fear. As you show this, insert your character into the scene. Show that they are fearful. Make the intensity of the threat clear. Engage the senses. What do they smell? Hear? Feel? What do they say? (Include some internal monolog). Use strong verbs. Indicate the timing. Is the threat something immediate or impending? If you feel stuck, use the following list to inspire your word choices:

  • Avoid making eye contact
  • Dry mouth
  • Chills, hair standing on arms, back of the neck, etc.
  • Rapid heartbeat
  • Chest pains
  • Shortness of breath
  • Perspiring (sweating)
  • Shaking hands, trembling

If you decide to expand this scene into a story, show how your character copes with the fear. If they can cope with it, it will lessen or remove the fear, but if they are helpless the fear of harm will intensify.   

Photo credits: pixabay, pixabay

* * *

About The Inheritance by Donna Sundblad

Written within the allegorical tradition of classics like Pilgrim's Progress, The Inheritance offers a literal but symbolic story for today's fantasy enthusiasts. This cleverly devised tale doesn't tell you what to think, but stimulates thought as to why you believe what you believe in your own quest for the Eternal City. The Inheritance is an ideal discussion starter for youth groups, homeschoolers, and families who enjoy meaningful discussions. 

 


The Inheritance is available on Kindle, paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo (Christian fiction), Smashwords and Google Books. When you read it, be sure to leave a review! Thanks for your support. 

About Dragonborn by Donna Sundblad

 

Dragonborn conjures up a winning fantasy with dragons, humans, time travel, and magic. Follow the journey of the young prisonguard, Ervig Greenfields, as he seeks out dragons to remove a curse. The dragons offer him access to the Labyrinth of Times, which will purge the dark magic. But there’s a catch. Erving must take the Dragon Oath that requires allegiance--to fight alongside dragons for centuries, never to return to his own time. He and a handful of others take the selfless oath and become Dragonborn. The Dragonborn and their dragons become seeds of change, in this epic tale, of sacrifice for the greater good. Ride along with them as they slip through a tear in time to the past to change the future. 

Dragonborn is available on Kindle, paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo (Christian fiction), Smashwords Apple and Google Books. When you read it, be sure to leave a review! Thanks for your support.